Dry concentrator



P. F. JOHNSON AND A. L. FIRPO.

DRY CONCENTRATOR. APPLICATION FILED AUG- 8, 1917.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PETER F. JOHNSON AND ARTHUR L. FIRPO, OF RUTHERFORD, CALIFORNIA.

I DRY GONCENTRATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Mar. 16, 1920.

Application filed August 8, 1917. Serial No. 185,066.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, Pnrnn F. J OHNSON and ARTHUR L. Flnro, citizens of the United States, residing at Rutherford, in the county of N apa, State of California, have invented a new and useful Dry Concentrator, of which the following is a specification in such full and clear terms as will enable'those skilled in the art to construct and use the same.

. This invention relates to a dry concentrator for the removal from ore of heavy materials.

An object of the invention is to provide means whereby a reciprocatory table may be used for treatin the ore, and which may be adjusted to di erent grades as may be requlred by the ore under treatment.

This concentrator is intended for the purpose of handling finely divided or comminuted ores containing particles of widely different specific gravities and for the collection of the heaviest of those particles.

The method of operation of the table is to provide a surface from which will issue air under a sufiicient pressure to gently disturb or agitate the ore'mass, while at the same time, the ore mass is mechanically agitated in the length of the table, the result of which is to cause the heavy articles to settle to the bottom of the mass, while the lighter particles representing the waste will work to the top and be discharged over the table surface.

In the present invention, advantage of this action of air and mechanical movement upon a mass of finely divided ore is taken to produce a continuous separating action in which the heavy particles will be delivered to a series of concentrating hoppers, while the lighter particles are discharged from the table as tailings.

Other objects of the invention will ap- I pear as the description proceeds.

An embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawings in which the same reference numeral is applied to the same portion. throughout, but we are aware that there may be modifications thereof.

Figure 1' is a side elevation partly in section of-the complete concentrator,

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of thelower end of the concentrator looking from the right Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a plan view of the concentrator, and

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of one of the mechanism is mounted.

The concentrator is mounted upon a base frame having side pieces 1 and 2 and connected together with suitable transverse end pieces 3, 3' and 4, while there is another longitudinally extending stringer 5 supported on posts 6 and 7, for the support of the concentrate receiving troughs or launders 8 to 14 inclusive.

The concentrator table is supported on four posts 15 to 18 inclusive and is reciprocated by means of a pitman 19 extending around an eccentric 20 on the shaft 21, the latter shaft being mounted in suitable journal boxes 22, 23, carried by the posts 15 and 16 respectively. The shaft carries pulleys 24, 25, one larger than the other to drive it and the fan.

The posts have suitable braces 26 to 29 inelusive extending to the horizontal sills of the machine. The posts 17, 18 have two inwardly extending brackets 31, 32, connected therewith at their upper ends, which brackets each support a ball as indicated at 33, 34, oppositely placed brackets 35, 36 being carried by the table for the support thereof. The upper end of the table has hand wheel 47 to enable the operator to ad-' just the elevation and grade of the concentrator table.

The brackets 39 and 40 each have a roller or ball 48 thereon upon which the brackets 37, 38 rest, and upon which the table reciprocates.

The table consists of two relatively deep side members 49, 50, with a hopper 51 at the upper end thereof.

The table surface consists of a plurality of flat plates 52 in such numbers as may be desirable for the particular ore to be treated, one plate being .set slightly above the other to permit the escape of air between the same into and through the body of ore assing over the table.

The table has concentrate receiving hopworked by the baffle plates 52 and sai ing up the pers 53 to inclusive, eachof which has a small spout opening into one of the concentratelaunders 8 to 14 inclusive. It willbe observed that the plates maktablesurface, 'see Fig. 3, are of diflerent widths, the object of this being to provide many or few air escape openings as the particular ore under treatment. may re quire, and to provide a wider baffle plate at each concentrate collectin roll, said plate having an incline up whic the 'ore must be the air 'to reach the next air box. At-three places in-the length of the table, there'are collecting ,IOllGI'S 60, 61 and 62, which extend across the tablev below openings formed by one of the rifle lates 52 and l rollers are slowly rotated to carry any heavy material that may be deposited thereon into the hoppers 55, 57 and 59. The shafts of these roller each have a gear wheel thereon as illustrated at 63, 64 and 65,- said gears being respectively in mesh with the gears 66, 67 and 68 adjacent them, and which gears are rigidly connected with the sprocket gears 69, 70, 71. A chain 7 2. passes over and around these sprocket gears and a roller-73 holds .said chain in contact with the sprocket wheel 70, for a purpose presently to be explained.

The gear 7 0 has an arm 7 4: loosely mountedupon its shaft, and said arm. carries a pawl 75 which engages the inside of the flange of the-wheel 70 and rotates it when the arm 7 4: strikes the post 77. The spring 78 serves to hold the arm. 7 4 in engagement with the post in order to cause it to rotate the gear 70. At the side of the machine, there. is a fan 80 with a pipe 81 leading therefrom under the table The pipe 81 has a plurality of flexible pipes'82 to 88 inclusive connected therewith, and each pipe has a valve as indicated at 89 to determine the quantity of air to be delivered to each of the air boxes 53 to 59.

The air under a suitable pressure from the fan 80 passes into the air boxes 53to 59 inclusive and escapes therefrom under the riffles and at the slots over the tops of the collecting rollers 60, 61 and 62, said rollers being mounted in the air boxes 55, 57 and 59 infsucha way as to allow the escape of air above the rollers through slots in the ore supporting table.

A sliding gate 90 determines the quantity of material that will be fed to the table.

to.,1 inch thick is fed from the hopper 51 over .therifle plates 52. The table is sharply reciprocated to cause the ore to travel down the same. As the ore travels down the table, the air under pressure escapes between the-rifles and agitates the ore thereby tending to cause the settlement of the heavy particles while the-lighter particles work tothe top of, the moving ore mass.

concentrate hoppers 53, 54, 56 and 58.

- slowly travelingto the left (Fig; 1) on their longitudinally, fies overlapping each other and spaced from ingthereunder in the line of movement of In operatlon, a film of ore usually about 1} The reciprocation of the table causes the topmost ore particles to work down more rapidly than the heavier particles which are retarded by friction on the rifles, and some of which work under the rifles into the As the heavier particles pass to the collecting rollers, they will drop into the depressions therein, and as said rollers are upper surfaces they will carry the heavier particles under the rifles and deposit them in the hoppers 55, 57 and 59, the air causing the light particles to be worked up the incline 92 and down the table, said incline causing the air to move in a plane inclined toward the foot of the table. The discharge spouts of each of thereceivin hoppersare left open since the quantity 0%. air required to operate the machine is much greater than such a small hole as that of each hopper would interfere with.

As the concentrates pass out of the launders 8 to 14 inclusive, they are delivered in any suitable receptacles.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art'that the. pipes 82 to 88 inclusive are made sufliciently long and flexible to permit fine particles of the heavy material to be concentrated, or they may have a suitable amalgamated surface.

Having thus described our invention,

what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is as follows, express reservation being made of permissible modifications.

1. An ore concentrator comprising an inclined table, means to reciprocate the same a plurality of transverse rifeach other at their edges to direct air passthe table, means to cause air under pressure to pass through the spaces between the rifles,

and a plurality of collecting rollers over which the ore passes, and which serve to carry heavy materials caught thereon into 12.5 the concentrate receiving hoppers.

2. An ore conoentratorcompris'ing an 1nclined table having a plurality of overlapping rifles spaced from each other, means to adjust the inclination of the table, a plurality of collecting rollers carried by the table below the spaces between certain of the rifiies and spaced therefrom to form in clined passages over which the ore passes, means to slowly rotate said rollers to deliver heavy particles detained thereon into concentrate receptacles, means to cause a current of air to pass through the several riflie openings to concentrate materials passed thereover.

3. An ore concentrator comprising a reciprocatin table, a plurality of substantially horlzontal overlapping rifiies carried thereby, means to deliver air under pressure to the table below the rifiles, a collecting roller, meansto slowly rotate the collecting roller, an incline adjacent the collecting roller up which the air works the ore, and means to drive a current of air upwardly and forwardly though the slot above the compartment in which said collecting roller is installed.

In testimony whereof We have hereunto set our hands this 30th day of July, A. D. 1917.

PETER F. JOHNSON. ARTHUR L. FIRPO. 

